I'm mad at this whole thing. I almost want us to fire BK. It's clear he really doesn't care about ND. The problem is the buyout, and there's no guarantee you can get a coach as good as BK (I think Strong could be, and I think he would come to ND, but there is of course no certainty for either of those two things). But this is going to hurt recruiting as long as he is here, and I truly wonder about how much his focus is on the Irish.

First, the post was on the basis of him wanting to move on. I've seen reports recently that he turned down the Eagles. To me, that makes no sense. Why would he even interview in the first place, put himself under that type of scrutiny, potentially lose members of the class, etc., if he didn't want the job (and wasn't attempting to leverage for $$, which it sounds like wasn't the case)? Did he just change his mind in three days? Seems very odd to me, but we'll assume that is the case just for this discussion, and now is heart is set on ND for life. Maybe it took the interview for him to come to the senses the NFL as a business isn't right for him. If so, fine. I'd still have preferred he never interviewed in the first place, but fine. If not, and Kelly wanted the Eagles job and just didn't get it, then my first post applies.

Even if my first post applies and Kelly did want the Eagles job and it just wasn't offered, I still don't want him fired. Reread the post. There's no one that (we know for sure) is better than him (Strong might be, but certainly the jury's still out) that would likely come (Also, as of this point, Holtz is still better, so that statement about best ND coach in my lifetime is wrong, and Kelly's better than Davie, Willingham, and Weis. Wow, what an accomplishment). If he actually did want to go to the Eagles, but just didn't get the job and/or went behind the administration's back, I'd want him fired IF we could find someone roughly his equivalent or better, but that's not the case. The main reasons why I would are that Kelly will bolt for the NFL at any shot he can when one's available, and his focus on getting to the NFL could harm ND, both with a lack of preparation/focus and changing his coaching style to try to impress NFL teams, which could impact ND's success in games. Of course, I don't want to fire Kelly and end up with some mediocre or "decent" coach just because BK wants to go to the NFL and will likely bolt. That's stupid.

So I'd take the good coach who is committed to ND and fire the good coach who is not. But it doesn't seem like that matters, because: 1) There doesn't seem like there are any good, proven, realistic options out there, and 2) Perhaps ND is BK's dream job.

Anyway, none of this matters. Kelly's our coach, he has my support 100% until otherwise.

quote:pleb logic.

doesnt seem to hurt saban or miles or chip

Saban (since Miami) and Miles have never interviewed for the NFL, IIRC. Essentially, it's all been rumors. Huge difference between that and an opposing coach being able to say "this guy is very interested in the NFL and willing to jump any second, just look at the interviews he did and how close he was to leaving". Chip Kelly's been a mediocre recruiter for Oregon given their success. Since he took over in 09, they've had ZERO top-10 classes according to Scout, and one according to Rivals, No. 9 in 2011. Currently, their 2013 class is rated No. 41 according to Rivals (still some time until signing day, of course), which is pretty incredible (in a negative way) for a program with the run they've had. Oregon's good because of schemes, playcalling, tempo, etc., not because they have more recruited talent (I'm talking compared to elite programs).

This is not to say BK will struggle in recruiting or not bring in top classes. ND is still arguably the greatest program of all time, coming off a top-five season, has great academics, a beautiful campus, etc. But it's naive to think ND won't lose some top prospects they'd otherwise get in the future because of this (particularly in the next 2-3 years, until BK shows his described longevity/loyalty to ND by not jumping).

quote:The Eagles issued a press release after this saga, which is odd and suggests the hiring may have been imminent. Most people are reporting that the Eagles were set to offer Kelly, but he declined.

Seen this, as well. This makes me feel better about the whole thing. Again, would have preferred he not interviewed in the first place, but if it helped him determine the NFL is not the place for him, great.